Iran: Pastor’s Wife Released as Husband Faces Execution

“The wife of a prominent evangelical pastor in Iran was free Monday, October 18, after four months of detention, but her husband still faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam, the Church of Iran said.

Fatemeh Passandideh, the wife of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, was released October 11 by a court in Gilan province, in northern Iran, an official linked to the Church of Iran told Worthy News and its news partner BosNewsLife.

‘The release of Fatemeh Passandideh comes ten days after the announcement of the death sentence for her husband Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani,’ he said, speaking on earlier agreed conditions of anonymity, amid security concerns.

Pastor Nadarkhani was convicted of ‘apostasy‘, or leaving Islam, last month by the 11th Chamber of the Assize Court of the province of Gilan. The pastor’s attorney is expected to file an appeal against the ruling after he reportedly found ‘serious procedural flaws‘ in the case.”